On World Suicide Prevention Day, the Welsh Government has published new Suicide and Self-harm guidance to support teachers and professionals who regularly come into contact with young people.

The guidance focusses on early intervention and the safe management of self-harm and suicidal thoughts when they arise.

The guidance will provide a quick and accessible source to the principles of best practice and signposts to other sources of support and advice.

To download the guidance please follow this link:
https://gov.wales/responding-issues-self-harm-and-thoughts-suicide-young-people

Information sharing to safeguard children

The Welsh Government has produced this non-statutory guide to remind practitioners working across agencies of their responsibilities to share information to safeguard children and to support them in understanding the conditions under which information may be shared.

This guide does not deal in detail with inter-agency arrangements for sharing personal information between organisations or as part of shared IT systems. However safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and Information Sharing Protocols can assist agencies in this role and in promoting the well-being of people to prevent risk of harm.

To download this guidance please visit:

https://gov.wales/information-sharing-safeguard-children-guidance

NSPCC have created an animation that outlines some key interpersonal skills that adults should use when a child discloses abuse and/or neglect, which can help make it clear they are listening and taking the child seriously. This animation compliments the safeguarding poster and briefing paper that NSPCC launched earlier this year. All three resources are now available in both English and Welsh at www.nspcc.org.uk/listen.

While the skills outlined on the poster and in the animation are well known to people who work with children, children tell us adults don’t necessarily always do these things. NSPCC aimed to create a set of practical resources that would keep these skills at the front of mind and help give professionals the confidence and skills they need to better listen to and support young people.

The NSPCC would be really grateful if you were able to support them once again by sharing the link to animation (and the other our resources) through your website, e-newsletters and/or social media channels. As we mentioned last time, please encourage adults to display the poster in places where adults will see it regularly (e.g. staff room, toilets, changing rooms, lifts, the inside page of a notebook, or in store/kit rooms). It’s visual and memorable and has been purposefully designed to be understood by young people too.